


Free Games for May

by Sapphy, SapphyWatchesYouSleep (Sapphy)



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon, Future Fic, Gen, Mental Breakdown, Mental Institutions, Murder, Short, Suicide Attempt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-11-12
Updated: 2012-11-12
Packaged: 2017-11-18 11:21:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 601
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/560496
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sapphy/pseuds/Sapphy, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sapphy/pseuds/SapphyWatchesYouSleep
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Derek is institutionalised, he meets the last person he ever expected in the hospital.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Free Games for May

**Author's Note:**

> I'm continuing my trend of writing short fics of dubious quality torturing Stiles as a way of working out my own demons.
> 
> There is brief mention of an attempted suicide/self-harm.
> 
> The title comes from Pink Floydd's 'See Emily Play'

When he saw him, Derek nearly fainted. He tried to tell himself that he was wrong, that the kid staring balefully out of the window is a complete stranger to him. He was fooling no one.

His feet dragged as he made his way over. He had to go, had to speak to him, but he wanted so much for it not to be real.

"Stiles," he said softly.

The kid spun around - and it was Stiles, no mistaking him - and froze, muscles tense, eyes starting. Then without warning, he began to laugh, a hysterical sound that made Derek shiver.

"Stiles?" he asked desperately, searching for any trace of the boy he'd known in the wild-eyed figure before him. "What happened to you?"

Stiles stopped laughing so abruptly it was as though he'd been muted. "Fucking werewolves," he said softly. "Fucking werewolves and Kanima and psychopaths and watching people die."

"Did you tell someone?" Derek asked, hoping the kid was in here from the same reasons as him, that he wasn't as mad as he looked and sounded.

"I haven't yet," Stiles said. "At least, I don't think so. I don't always remember things very clearly. I don't suppose it would matter if I did, now. Since I'm mad and all. Not like anyone would believe me."

Derek's heart sank. He'd wanted so much for it not to be true.

"I killed Peter," he offered, when the silence became oppressive.

Stiles nodded. "It was in the papers," he said. "He tried to betray you?"

"He hurt Isaac too."

"I liked Isaac," Stiles said sadly. "His crush on Scott was a bit nauseating, but he was nice."

"He still is," Derek responded.

He felt like he should be sharing confidences with this face from his past, catching up on his life, but the boy before him (he had to be at least twenty, but there was something child-like about him that made him seem younger than he had at sixteen) was so unlike the bright obnoxious boy he'd known all those years ago. The knowledge that he'd contributed to causing that change made his heart clench.

They stood side by side, staring out of the window at the birds on the lawn and pretending they weren't watching one another.

"Lydia and Jackson are still together," Stiles said, out of the blue.

Derek nodded.

"I think they're happy together. I mean, they let me go visit my dad for a few days last month and she came to see me. She looked well. It was nice to see her. Not worth these," he gestured to heavily bandaged wrists, "but nice all the same."

"You tried to commit suicide?" Derek asked, appalled. The Stiles he remembered would never have given in like that.

"My doctor says I have a suicidal ideation," Stiles said, with a sardonic smile. "I say my doctor is an idiot. He says that that attitude is preventing me from getting better. I say him treating me for problem I don't have is preventing me from getting better. It's an ongoing discussion."

That doesn't actually answer Derek's question, but he figures Stiles is entitled to his privacy.

"I told them Peter was a werewolf," Derek offers, by way of an olive branch. "I couldn't be bothered to lie any more."

Stiles grins at him, and he looks nearly his old self. "That was dumb."

A bell rings, making Derek nearly jump out of his skin.

"Lunch," Stiles says with a smile, and grabs Derek's hand. "You can sit with me."

Derek could feel that wad of Stiles' bandage against his arm.


End file.
